1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments described herein relate generally to an electronic device with a dictionary function of retrieving explanatory information on any word or phrase and a dictionary information display method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the electronic dictionary devices have been configured to have more and more functions. For example, an electronic dictionary device can not only retrieve an entry word coinciding with a search word input by the user and display explanatory information on the entry word but also display an example or a commentary included in the explanatory information on another screen or directly specify a desired word included in text displayed in any stage to make an entry word search (jump search), thereby displaying the explanatory information immediately.
As described above, the electronic dictionary device enables the user to start from dictionary information currently being displayed to related pieces of dictionary information on the screen so as to cause the related pieces of dictionary information to transit to one after another. When having searched for related words one after another, the user may want to learn the words together with their background.
In this case, with a conventional electronic dictionary device, the user has to repeat exactly the same operation as a series of dictionary searches done by the user, which is very annoying. In addition, the user might not be able to perform the same operation unless the user has a clear memory of what the user has done in the series of dictionary searches.
In this connection, various devices have been proposed which have a macro function, a shortcut function, or the like of recording a series of consecutive operations in advance and enabling the recorded series of operations to be performed en bloc on the basis of a user operation (refer to, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2009-164995 and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No, 10-149486).
With the conventional device that enables the previously recorded series of operations to be performed en bloc on the basis of a user operation, it is difficult for the user to check the result of each operation because the series of operation is performed all at once.
Therefore, even if such a conventional device is applied to the electronic dictionary device, the user cannot reconfirm a series of pieces of dictionary information obtained by searching for related words consecutively by jump search or the like to memorize or learn the series of pieces of dictionary information including how the last piece of dictionary information has been reached.
It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide an electronic device with a dictionary function of capable of displaying, one by one consecutively, a series of pieces of dictionary information search for and a dictionary information displaying method.